BusinessDesk report
Fletcher Building non-executive director Hugh Fletcher will step down from the board of the country’s biggest listed construction company, ending a family association with the firm stretching back more than 100 years.

Fletcher will retire at the end of the month as part of the board’s succession arrangement for directors, the company said in a statement. Hugh Fletcher has been on the board of Fletcher Building since it was spun out of Fletcher Challenge in 2001 when the group was broken up. He was chief executive of Fletcher Challenge between 1987 and 1997.

“On behalf of the board and shareholders, I would like to acknowledge and thank Hugh for his long service and insightful contribution to Fletcher Building, and wish him well for the future,” chairman Ralph Waters said.

Last month, the Auckland-based company reported a 17 percent drop in construction earnings to $50 million though its backlog of building work had climbed to $1.09 billion at the end of June from $764 million a year earlier.

The shares fell 0.9 percent to $6.88 in trading today, and have gained 11 percent this year.